In case there were any doubts last summer, Trent Frederic proved that he is a bona fide NHL player in 2022-23. He proved he’s more than just a fourth liner as well.
But still, as he’s about to embark on his sixth full pro season, it’s not fully clear what the 25-year-old Bruin forward’s ceiling is, or even where he should play in the lineup.
Frederic, who narrowly avoided arbitration last week when he signed a two-year deal with an AAV of $2.3 million, enjoyed a breakout season in ’22-23, notching career highs in goals (17) and points (14).
Developed as a centerman, Frederic played all three forward positions through the course of last season but he had his greatest success playing his off-wing on the right side with center Charlie Coyle and left wing Taylor Hall.
Hall is now a Blackhawk and Coyle is expected to bump up in the lineup with the retirement of Patrice Bergeron and expected departure of David Krejci. Where that leaves Frederic is anyone’s guess. GM Don Sweeney has mentioned him as a possible center, presumably somewhere in the depth chart behind Pavel Zacha and Coyle. Other center hopefuls include newly acquired Morgan Geekie, Jesper Boqvist and Patrick Brown.
“I guess it will play out camp,” said Frederic, speaking on a Zoom call from his home in St. Louis on Thursday. “I don’t mind playing center or wing. I think last year I played all three, left, right and center so I’m comfortable playing all three now. I actually really liked playing right wing last year. It was a my first time doing that and I really liked it. So wherever I find a fit, I’ll try to do my best there.”
While at the US National Development program and at University of Wisconsin, Frederic played mostly center and got a little taste of it again later in the season when the B’s were resting some players.
One critical area that will be a challenge for the B’s is on the draw. In losing Bergeron and Tomas Nosek, that’s two pivots who averaged better than a 59% success rate in the circle. Frederic didn’t take a ton of draws, just 72, but he won just 24 of them, for a win percentage of 33.3. That’s got to get better, and he knows it. But he feels like he’s got a good handle on the rest of the centerman’s responsibilties, which he said have lightened a bit under Jim Montgomery’s system.
“I’ve pretty much been a center my whole career before the last three years when I’ve been in and out of center but mostly out on wing. I think I understand the system at center…When I was playing with Charlie, he always liked when I’d chip in and play down low,” said Frederic. “I think for me, the biggest thing will be faceoffs. Getting that first touch on the puck for our team will be a big factor. That’s something I don’t think I did my best last season, but I think the repetition will help.”
But winning more faceoffs won’t replace all of what’s lost with Bergeron in civvies. Frederic marveled at his poise and leadership.
“I even liked when he’d give talks to people in front of big crowds and even to us as a team, you forget he’s doing it in a second language,” said Frederic. “He’s an impressive human. It’ll be interesting to see whatever he does afterwards. Whatever he does, I’m sure he’ll be successful.”
While he’s played a lot of golf this summer — he hit his first hole-in-one on a par-3 on a northern Michigan course — he’s maintained the same offseason regimen back home in St. Louis. With so many players having moved on, Frederic hopes to pick up a little more responsibility, especially in the special teams department. He saw some spot duty on the penalty kill last year.
“I guess that’s all on my play,” he said. “I’m sure with people moving on, there should be openings for that as in the past years. I guess it’ll all trickle out at camp at the beginning of the year. I would like to play more special teams. It’s hard just playing 5-on-5 at times because you can (lose) the flow of the game. Even a little bit of killing and stuff like that goes a long. You’re not just sitting there getting cold.”
As for his deal, it was announced just shortly before the two sides were set to go to arbitration. His teammate, Jeremy Swayman,went through with the process. And though the young netminder said there was no ill will, Swayman also said he doesn’t want to go through it again.
Frederic was happy he was able to skip it.
“The process was different from the entry level contract and my last contract, with the whole arbitration thing. I guess it gives a little more leverage to RFAs,” said Frederic. “I’m happy with the deal and that we got to settle before. I think they’re happy and I’m happy, so it’s all good.”
And now, with a multiple-year deal in hand, Frederic can continue the work of cementing his identity as an NHL player.